


Small and Significant

by Gizzwhizz



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Song Lyrics, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-14 00:02:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7991221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gizzwhizz/pseuds/Gizzwhizz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl has survived loss before, but she's not prepared for this. How can she protect Rose from herself?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Small and Significant

**Author's Note:**

> I rediscovered [this song](https://vimeo.com/118532974) today and immediately could not stop imagining Rose singing it. So here you go. The song is Small & Significant by Nano.

The dawn had barely broken when Pearl stepped out of the Temple door. The weather was unusually cold for Beach City and she could see a light powdering of snow had fallen on the sand overnight. Her feet carried her forward as if on their own accord, her mind wandering. She still hadn’t absorbed the news, hadn’t even spoken to Rose since the other Gem had told her. And that was days ago now. Hardly worth counting for beings their age, but a lifetime by her and Rose’s standards. 

It just didn’t seem possible. Gems didn’t sleep, but Pearl felt as though this must be what the humans called a “dream,” or else a terrible mistake. No, correction, it shouldn’t be possible. Not only a child but one that would take her Rose away… It was unthinkable. She was too numb for sadness or anger and had instead retreated to the isolated safety of her room. She was grateful Garnet had not called them away for a mission, but her restlessness had increased with each day until her waterfalls seemed anything but calming and so she had finally left, hoping the waves of the deserted beach might give her some solace.

She froze in the entrance to the temple, her pale eyes widening. There was Rose, gazing up at the not-yet-set moon. Snow and sand glittered around her like diamond dust in the intermingled coolness of moonlight and warmth of the predawn.

She was achingly beautiful, as always.

Pearl skittered to one side, ducking behind one curve of the Temple’s cave-like entrance. She was breathing hard, despite the fact that her kind lacked a need for oxygen, and it was some moments before she could bare to peek out once more. Rose hadn’t seen her, or if she had she did nothing to acknowledge Pearl’s presence. Pearl couldn’t say if she was relieved by that or not. Then sound drifted to her, not at all dimmed or distorted by the distance between them. Rose was humming. The tune began simply enough, but soon shifted and grew into a new form entirely.

And then Rose opened her mouth and began to sing in earnest.

 

_”A shining morning ray_

_Another break of day_

_The winter is near_

_And the cold is here to stay.”_

 

One of Rose’s bare feet snuck out from beneath her dress and swept to the side, drawing a wide arc in the sand and snow.

 

_“Beneath the falling snow_

_A lost and lonely significance wakes again.”_

Her body followed the motion, twirling on the glittering beach. Pearl marked her every move, just as she always did. Just as she’d always thought she would.

 

_“A silent shade of grey_

_No path to lead the way_

_The weary footsteps_

_come to stand and fade away”_

Rose swept through the wet sand at the tide’s edge, her footsteps reduced to smudges and then smooth sand in her wake. She had a grace about her that Pear had always admired, completely unexpected from a Gem her size. It was as though Rose weighed no more than a feather when she danced, lighter on her feet even then Pearl herself was. Rose stopped abruptly and looked up at the moon again, saltwater lapping at her ankles.

 

_“Beyond the night ahead_

_A single promise of innocence sleeps again.”_

She crouched for an instant and when she leapt into the air glistening water droplets sprang in all directions. She flew up and up until she was nearly level with the Temple’s great face, her voice bellowing out across the ocean as she belted out her song. Pearl craned her neck to watch, not noticing the way her hands had begun to tremble.

 

_“Like a distant fire burning_

_The world inside will keep on turning_

_One by one the seasons come_

_and this soul will keep moving on._

_Soundlessly a heart is beating_

_With every step, a deeper feeling_

_Quietly, another breath_

_Will light the dark ahead.”_

 

Rose began to descend slowly, as if buoyed up on a breeze. She revolved as she fell and Pearl saw the way the light caught on the tears clinging to Rose’s full cheeks. Pearl had never seen Rose cry unless she was healing someone, not since the war anyway when she had caught the other Gem softly sobbing over the needless loss of life half a dozen times. Pearl sniffed, though her own eyes were dry.

 

_“Nobody knows how long this road is winding_

_Until we reach the end_

_But if we see that every sign is leading_

_To a place where we can find our meaning_

_Standing still as the time keeps on flowing_

_While we all try to find where we're going_

_That's why_

_We can only start from within_

_Nobody knows why all the tears are falling_

_To ease the scars we bear_

_But if we close our eyes we'd hear a calling_

_To tell us that our hearts are healing_

_In every fragile moment_

_In every precious second spent_

_There's a place for all of us_

_In this world.”_

And isn’t that what Rose had always believed? What they had fought for? That Earth could be a home and not merely a source of resources to be harvested. And wasn’t that what she was doing now, Pearl suddenly thought with a pang. Mingling Gem and Organic, proving once and for all that they could live together, no matter what the Diamonds said. One hand unconsciously gripped at her middle, fisting in the material of her being that a human would have called a shirt.

Rose’s feet landed on the sand with barely an impression, her skirts cascading down to hide them. She stood facing the Temple, gazing up at it. She was crying harder now, but her voice never faltered.

 

_“A shadow passing by_

_Below the moonless sky_

_An echo resounds_

_through the air like an empty sigh_

_Before the sun will rise_

_A chance to dream of the happiness to share again.”_

Water dripped off the tip of Pearl’s nose and she was surprised to realize she was crying quietly now too. She shrank back a bit, suddenly even more anxious that Rose not catch sight of her. She didn’t want Rose to know how badly this hurt, couldn’t let her know. She was Rose’s knight, sworn to protect her and give her life for her, if necessary. She couldn’t show such weakness to Rose, though the thought of losing her chilled Pearl to her very core. No, a knight’s duty was to remain calm and strong for her liege. Always.

 

_“Like the past our minds are holding_

_Forgotten memories keep unfolding_

_One by one, a story is told_

_and this soul will keep moving on_

_Desperately a child is needing_

_A hand to hold and keep on growing_

_Destiny will take us_

_to a brighter future yet.”_

Pearl’s vision blurred at those words and all at once her self-control was utterly shattered. She took a step out of her shadowed hiding place, and then another, and then she was running, no, sprinting across the sand. Rose’s gaze fell from the Temple’s face and she smiled her beatific smile and opened her arms. Pear rushed into the embrace without another thought. Her voice was muffled as she pressed her face into Rose, but she raised her own voice in song all the same.

 

_“Nobody knows how long this road is winding_

_Until we reach the end_

_But if we see that every sign is leading_

_To a place where we can find our meaning_

_Standing still as the time keeps on flowing_

_While we all try to find where we're going_

_That's why_

_We can only start from within.”_

Rose’s arms were a blessed prison around her, capturing her and holding her steady at the same time. For the first time since Rose had told her she wondered what the other Gem was feeling and guilt washed over her for leaving Rose alone for even a second. Sure, there was Greg and Pearl could no longer doubt that Rose did indeed love the human truly, but there were some comforts that only other Gems could provide. How could she have been so selfish? But the guilty thoughts were chased away in the next moment as Rose sang with her, the sound of their mingled voices calming Pearl’s soul for the first time in days.

 

_"Nobody knows why all the tears are falling_

_To ease the scars we bear_

_But if we close our eyes we'd hear a calling_

_To tell us that our hearts are healing_

_In every fragile moment_

_In every precious second spent_

_There's a place for all of us_

_In this world.”_

 

Rose leaned back, only a little, and cupped Pearl’s face with one massive hand. Pearl leaned into the touch like an affection starved cat, stopping just short of actually nuzzling Rose’s hand.

 

_“Beautiful innocence_

_Small and significant”_

Pearl drew a shuddering breath and gave the other Gem a watery smile. One of her hands, tiny by comparison, came up to cover Rose’s, holding it more firmly against her cheek. In bygone days she might have kissed Rose then, but not now. Instead she only smiled wider and tried desperately to convey with her eyes that _it would be alright. It would be hard and unbearable at times, but it would be alright. They would go on, somehow, and they would all be okay. It would be alright._ The choice was already made, after all, and though it felt like cracking her own Gem, Pearl was determined to reassure her liege—her closest _friend_ —if she could do nothing else.

Dawn had come in all its glory now, already beginning to melt the meager snow around them. When Pearl raised her voice, it was as brittle as the cool morning air.

 

_“Like a distant fire burning_

_The world inside will keep on turning_

_One by one the seasons come_

_A new day will finally dawn.”_


End file.
